Commencement audiences grow, as more colleges broadcast graduation ceremonies online
Local colleges and universities have begun broadcasting live webcasts of commencement services over the past few years, enabling parents, friends, and alumni to watch ceremonies that they otherwise would not have been able to attend.
Greg Gatlin, a spokesman for Suffolk University, said in a phone interview that the live webcast caters particularly to family and friends of the graduates, as well as alumni and Suffolk employees.
“We know there is an extended community of people who want to watch the commencement,” he said. “With students who have extended family members who were unable to attend, or Suffolk alumni, employees, and others who really enjoy the great moment that is the Suffolk University commencement.”
Carole McFall, a spokeswoman for Emerson College, said the university has broadcast the graduation online since 2003, and is often popular among alumni. This year, people from 34 states in the US and across 24 countries viewed the live webcast, she said.
According to Ellen de Graffenreid, a spokeswoman for Brandeis University, the school has been streaming commencement online since 2006, as a “cost-effective way” for family and friends to watch the ceremony.
And at Boston University, spokesman Colin Riley wrote in an e-mailed statement that the school has had a live webcast of its commencement ceremony since 1999.
Kim Thurler, a spokeswoman for Tufts University, wrote in an e-mailed statement that the school has provided a webcast of the commencement for the past ten years, “in addition to serving members of our community who may be off campus or otherwise unable to attend the ceremony itself, live streaming provides a bit of a weather hedge.”
“Our all-university ceremony is held outdoors,” she wrote. “The venue on our academic green is normally beautiful but if the weather is unseasonably hot or cold, or rainy, someone who would otherwise enjoy the ceremony outdoors may choose to watch the ceremony indoors.”
At Babson, the college has been live streaming commencement as well as other important events for the past several years.
“For commencement it makes sense for out-of-country families who cannot make it in person,” spokeswoman Barbara Spies Blair wrote in an e-mail, adding, “From an audience perspective, more and more users are tablet owners with easy access no matter where they are.”
Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.
Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.
Harvard Law School to accept college juniors
Harvard Law School announced that it will accept students in the Harvard College Class of 2015 for its deferred admissions program for juniors.
Jessica Soban, assistant dean and chief admissions officer for the law school, said today that the program, which is one of the first of its kind, will launch as a pilot. She said it could evolve to include juniors at other universities.
Soban said the students will be admitted at the end of their junior year, and their acceptances will automatically be deferred until two years after graduation. She said the motivation is for students to gain experience before they pursue additional education.
“We want them to form those connections and networks before they even get into law school,” she said.
The Harvard Crimson compared the initiative to the 2+2 Program at the Harvard Business School, which launched in 2007. Students apply as juniors, and then spend two years working, followed by the two-year MBA program.
Soban said that Harvard Law School hopes to explore a number of options with the accepted students, such as working in business, public service, or computer science.
“Given the growing complexity to become a leader in the profession, you need a whole variety of experience,” Soban said.
Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.
Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.
Harvard confirms case of tuberculosis, recommends testing for some
A member of the Harvard community has tested positive for tuberculosis, and the university is recommending those who may have come in contact with the affected person to be tested for the disease, according to a Harvard official.
Lindsey Baker, a spokeswoman for Harvard University Health Services, wrote in a statement that the school has notified the Cambridge Public Health Department.
"As is practice, Harvard University Health Services (HUHS) notified the Cambridge Public Health Department, which alerted those who may have come into contact with the affected person and encouraged those people to be tested," she wrote.
Baker said that tuberculosis (TB) is not highly contagious and therefore the risk for contracting it is low.
According to the CDC, TB is caused by a bacteria that usually attacks the lungs, but it can attack any part of the body such as the brain, kidney, and spine. If TB is not treated, the disease can be deadly.
The disease is spread through the air, the CDC website says, and a rate of 3.4 cases per 100,000 people were reported in the US in 2011. Since 1992, the number of cases has decreased each year.
"The TB bacteria are put into the air when a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings," according to the website. "People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected."
According to The Crimson, students and faculty in at least two undergraduate clases — Physics 15b: “Introductory Electromagnetism” and Molecular and Cellular Biology 56: ”Physical Biochemistry: Understanding Macromolecular Machines” — were notified at the end of April by the Cambridge Public Health Department.
“The Cambridge Public Health Department has been working with the Harvard University Infection Control nurses to identify people at greatest risk of TB infection/disease, and to prevent further TB disease,” Joanne Ferraro of the CPHD wrote in an e-mailed message to at-risk students obtained by The Crimson.
Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.
Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.
Judge: MIT may redact names when releasing Aaron Swartz documents
MIT may redact the names of university officials and others when releasing documents related to the Aaron Swartz case, a federal judge ruled today, saying the disclosure could expose investigators to harassment and retaliation.
Related
In an order released Monday, U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton wrote that “after weighing all of the interests at stake, (he) concludes that the estate's interest in disclosing the identity of individuals named in the production, as it relates to enhancing the public's understanding of the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Swartz, is substantially outweighed by the interest of the government and the victims in shielding their employees from potential retaliation.”
Swartz, a 26-year-old internet activist, committed suicide in January while he faced up to 35 years in jail for allegedly downloading more than 4 million JSTOR articles, some of which were behind a paywall.
“The government, MIT and JSTOR have each adduced credible evidence that individuals connected to the investigation have suffered incidents of harassment and retaliation,'' the judge wrote. "Even individuals only superficially connected to the investigation, including a relative of one of the prosecuting attorneys, have received threatening communications. Those identified threats demonstrate a strong risk that any individuals newly named in the discovery materials face potential reprisals and that their interests strongly support redaction of such identifying information.”
In a motion filed in March, lawyers for Swartz’s estate requested that the names and titles of all MIT and JSTOR employees related to the case be released, as well as those of law enforcement officials.
“Both Congress and the public at large have an important role to play in determining what conduct is considered criminal, particularly in the relatively new and rapidly evolving context of so-called ‘computer crimes,’ ” lawyers Elliot R. Peters, Daniel Purcell, and Michael J. Pineault wrote in the motion.
Later in March, MIT’s president announced the university would provide internal documents in the federal case after personal and security information was removed.
But Swartz's father, Robert Swartz, said he wanted the university to release any relevant documents. In an interview with the Globe, he said that “we believe they should release all the documents related to this case and related to Aaron, whether or not those are given to the government."
In a statement released today, MIT spokesman Nathaniel Nickerson wrote that "the court's decision will help protect the privacy and safety of the members of the MIT community."
"As previously announced, MIT will release to the public redacted versions of the documents it provided to the prosecution or defense in the case of U.S. v. Aaron Swartz," Nickerson wrote. "It will make this release at the same time it releases a report, currently being prepared by MIT faculty member Hal Abelson, that provides a thorough analysis of MIT's involvement in this case."
Before his death, US prosecutors said they would not agree to a plea deal with Swartz unless he pleaded guilty to the felony charges and served four to six months in prison. Swartz declined the deal and was expected to stand trial in April.
Since Swartz's death, MIT's computer system has been hacked at least three times.
A hoax caller in late February claimed there was a gunman on campus. The university later disclosed that the caller claimed it was in retaliation for Swartz's death.
Correspondent Todd Feathers contributed to this report. Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.
White powder sent to Harvard Law faculty member not dangerous, incident is under investigation
Officials determined Thursday evening that an envelope of white powder sent to a Harvard Law School building is not dangerous, according to a school spokesman.
Harvard Law School spokesman Robb London said today that the envelope was sent to a faculty member’s office in Hauser Hall, and was opened by an office worker shortly after 3 p.m. on Thursday, prompting an evacuation of the building’s fifth floor. An on-scene test and state laboratory test found that the white powder was not harmful.
London said that Cambridge police, Harvard police, and state officials who investigate hazardous materials, responded to the scene Thursday afternoon. Four people were in the room when the envelope was opened, but they have shown no symptoms.
“They are continued to be monitored, and have been checked for physical symptoms or discomfort, and no one has experienced anything,” London said.
The Globe reported Thursday night that the Boston Fire Department’s Prevention Division was also evacuated and shut down when an envelope containing a white powder was found in the building earlier that day.
According to Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald, the tests on the envelope with white substance were negative, but the envelope was sent to state lab for further testing.
Cambridge Assistant Fire Chief Gerry Mahoney told the Globe Thursday that there is no evidence that the package sent to the Boston Fire Department office and the envelope sent to Hauser Hall were related.
London said that Hauser Hall was reopened this morning. The incident is still under investigation.
Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.
Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.
Harvard names CNN correspondent Soledad O’Brien as Class Day speaker
CNN special correspondent Soledad O’Brien will be this year's Senior Class Day speaker at Harvard, according to a statement.
O'Brien, who graduated from Harvard in 1988, will speak to the graduating class on May 29, in the Tercentenary Theatre, the statement said.
The speaker for Class Day, by tradition held the day before the college's official commencement, is chosen by seniors.
In 2011, O'Brien won an Emmy for her reporting on Haiti in the category of Outstanding Live Coverage of a Current News Story -- Long Form. O’Brien was a member of teams that won CNN George Foster Peabody Awards for coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill.
She won the Edward R. Murrow and RTDNA/UNITY 2010 award for “Latino in America."
“This is a journalist who has done work on issues that have ignited so many members of our class during our time in college — from social justice to disaster relief,” graduating senior Scott Yim said in the statement.
Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.
Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.
Korean pop star PSY visiting Harvard Thursday
By Brock Parker, Town Correspondent
"Gangnam Style" is about to meet the Ivy League.
To make cycling in Boston safer, Harvard students urge better data collection
(Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer)
In response to Boston's major push to become more bicycle-friendly, Harvard students presented their project on bicycle safety to members of the Boston City Council. “An increase in bicycle ridership brings an increased need for measures to ensure the safety of cyclists,” said City Councilor Ayanna Pressley (right), who described the students' proposal as "comprehensive."
The following is a report by Alvin Powell written for and originally published by Harvard University's official newspaper the Harvard Gazette, a publication of the university's Public Affairs & Communications office.
How do you make Boston bike-safe? First you find out where it’s unsafe.
Answers to that and other key questions would provide the foundation for effective policy, a team of four Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) students told Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley on Wednesday.
The four — Aaron Pervin, Temitope Olukowi, Claire Albert, and Marie McIntee — were the winners of an annual spring exercise at the school of public health in which student teams examine a health policy issue and devise recommendations on how to address it.
In their presentation, the students told Pressley that dealing with Boston’s bike-safety problem — made apparent by a string of fatal accidents last year — is especially difficult because information on ridership, common routes, and even accidents is scattered among reports by the Boston Police Department, ambulance teams, emergency rooms, and a variety of city departments.
The team proposed coupling a movable four-camera system with advanced software to gather information for analysis by a private company or a city staffer. The cameras, used for research only, could be posted at an intersection for a short period of time and then moved to another part of the city.
The cameras would reveal not only whether cyclists use a particular street or intersection, but also the volume of bike traffic, accident severity, and details on riders’ age and sex. That information would go into a centralized database, along with bicycle-related reports from Boston police and other city agencies. Officials would better understand how bicyclists use city streets and be able to determine where bike lanes or other interventions are needed.
“We’re talking about a fundamental shift in how we collect data, use data, and share data,” McIntee said. “Without good data, no good decisions are made.”
Boston has made a major push in recent years to become more bicycle-friendly. In April 2011, Mayor Thomas M. Menino signed an agreement with Alta Bicycle Share, creating the Hubway bicycle-sharing program, which lets residents and visitors buy passes to use bicycles from stations located across the city. Last year it logged more than half a million trips.
“An increase in bicycle ridership brings an increased need for measures to ensure the safety of cyclists,” Pressley said. “We want Boston to be the safest bicycling city.”
City Councilor Felix Arroyo, who attended the first part of the presentation, backed that goal.
“As a city, I think we’ve gotten exponentially better than just a few years ago, but there is much more we can do,” said Arroyo, who last month announced a run to succeed Menino as mayor.
Capt. Jack Danilecki of the Boston police, former commander of the tactical bicycle unit, said that five cyclists were killed in Boston last year. Police are taking an initial step to address the problem by issuing reminders — in the form of $20 tickets — to cyclists who run red lights and stop signs that they are legally bound to obey the rules of the road.
The deaths “are unacceptable, we’re trying to figure out how to make bicycling safer in the city,” said Danilecki, who visited HSPH to brief students during the spring exercise.
The students’ data-centered approach reflects the city’s own recognition of the need to understand a problem before designing solutions. Boston police have collaborated with HSPH on a report on bicycle safety that is nearing completion, Danilecki said.
This was the second year for HSPH’s spring exercise. Modeled on a similar program at the Harvard Kennedy School, it was launched last year under the leadership of John McDonough, director of the Center for Public Health Leadership and a professor of the practice of public health. Fawn Phelps, the center’s assistant director, described the contest for Pressley during Wednesday’s event, saying that the 50 students who participated listened to talks by nearly 40 experts on the issue before setting to work on policy recommendations.
A recurring theme among the experts was the inadequacy of data, Olukowi said. While a bicycle lane on Commonwealth Avenue may seem to make sense, it’s impossible to know without data. Perhaps bicycle lanes in retail areas would drive business to those stores, as some claim, but there’s no hard evidence to support that. Olukowi likened the situation to a physician writing a prescription for high blood pressure medicine without making sure that hypertension is the patient’s problem.
Pervin highlighted a map of bicycle accident hotspots developed by San Francisco — a standard-setter on bicycle safety. The map had different colored dots showing not just accident sites, but also whether the cyclist, automobile, or pedestrian was at fault.
But San Francisco’s map lacks volume data, Pervin said, which could provide a better sense of how dangerous an area is. For example, six accidents at an intersection used by 1,000 cyclists is likely more dangerous than one used by 5,000 cyclists. Volume data, enabled by the advanced cameras, would allow Boston to leapfrog San Francisco with respect to safety, Pervin said.
“Massachusetts is leading the way with health reform and, with the proper injury surveillance database, Boston could be a leader in bicycle safety,” Pervin said.
Questioned by Pressley, Albert said the cameras cost about $3,000 each and there would be additional cost to analyze video. A private service would cost $15 to $20 an hour, but the students recommended the city hire a single person to do the review.
Pressley, who described herself as “passionate” about the issue because of its health ramifications, called the students’ proposal “comprehensive” and “thoughtful,” and said it was “the beginning of a longer conversation.”
Anne Lusk, a research scientist in HSPH’s Nutrition Department whose work focuses on bicycling and its health benefits, said the recommendations are a move to make cycling part of the city’s fabric, with not only bicycle lanes for people who commute to work, but also extra-wide lanes to enable side-by-side social riding and more convenient storage at apartments and stores. Bicycling is also potentially an economic equalizer, she said, providing inexpensive transportation for just about anyone.
“It’s building it into your daily life, but making it pleasant, so that joy is there,” Lusk said. “The bike is such an easy element. It’s been around so long. Everyone can ride.”
Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.
(Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer)
At Boston City Hall, HSPH student Temitope Olukowi demonstrated the city’s bike-safety problem to members of the Boston City Council.
(Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer)
“Massachusetts is leading the way with health reform and, with the proper injury surveillance database, Boston could be a leader in bicycle safety,” said Aaron Pervin, showing a map of bicycle accident hotspots developed by San Francisco — a standard-setter on bicycle safety.
US orders verification of student visas for newly arriving students
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Homeland Security Department ordered border agents ‘‘effective immediately’’ to verify that every international student who arrives in the U.S. has a valid student visa, according to an internal memorandum obtained Friday by The Associated Press. The new procedure is the government’s first security change directly related to the Boston bombings.
The order from a senior official at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, David J. Murphy, was circulated Thursday and came one day after the Obama administration acknowledged that a student from Kazakhstan accused of hiding evidence for one of the Boston bombing suspects was allowed to return to the U.S. in January without a valid student visa.
The student visa for Azamat Tazhayakov had been terminated when he arrived in New York on Jan. 20. But the border agent in the airport did not have access to the information in the Homeland Security Department’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, called SEVIS.
Tazhayakov was a friend and classmate of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Tazhayakov left the U.S. in December and returned Jan. 20. But in early January, his student-visa status was terminated because he was academically dismissed from the university.
Tazhayakov and a second Kazakh student were arrested this week on federal charges of obstruction of justice. They were accused of helping to get rid of a backpack containing fireworks linked to Tsarnaev. A third student was also arrested and accused of lying to authorities.
A spokesman for the department, Peter Boogaard, said earlier this week that the government was working to fix the problem, which allowed Tazhayakov to be admitted into the country when he returned to the U.S.
Under existing procedures, border agents could verify a student’s status in SEVIS only when the person was referred to a second officer for additional inspection or questioning. Tazhayakov was not sent to a second officer when he arrived, because, Boogaard said, there was no information to indicate Tazhayakov was a national security threat. Under the new procedures, all border agents were expected to be able to access SEVIS by next week.
The government for years has recognized as a problem the inability of border agents at primary inspection stations to directly review student-visa information. The Homeland Security Department was working before the bombings to resolve the problem, but the new memo outlined interim procedures until the situation was corrected.
Under the new procedures, border agents will verify a student’s visa status before the person arrives in the U.S. using information provided in flight manifests. If that information is unavailable, border agents will check the visa status manually with the agency’s national targeting data center.
It is unclear what impact the new procedure will have on wait times at airports and borders. Customs officials will be required to report any effect, including increased wait times, on a daily basis.
The Obama administration announced an internal review earlier this week of how U.S. intelligence agencies shared sensitive information before the bombings and whether the government could have prevented the attack. Republicans in Congress have promised oversight hearings, which begin Thursday.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday for details from the student-visa applications of Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, the Kazakhstan students implicated in helping Tsarnaev after the bombings, including information about how Tazhayakov re-entered the United States.
Lawmakers and others have long been concerned about terrorists exploiting the student visa system to travel to the United States. A 20-year-old college student from Saudi Arabia was arrested in Texas in 2011 on federal charges of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. Authorities accused him of plotting to blow up dams, nuclear plants or the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush. He was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
BC partners with six other schools, including Brandeis, to offer for-credit online classes
Boston College will partner with six other universities this fall to offer for-credit classes as part of an on-line initiative, BC officials announced today.
In addition to BC, “Semester Online” will feature courses from Brandeis University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Northwestern University, the University of Notre Dame, Washington University in St. Louis, and Emory University.
These courses, in conjunction with the on-line educator provider 2U, will cover a range of topics from accounting to film, BC said in a statement.
“It is an exciting opportunity to explore this consortial approach to online undergraduate education and share our teaching excellence with a wider audience in partnership with peer schools and the nation’s leader in online education,” said BC Provost and Dean of Faculties Cutberto Garza.
The statement said the courses will be available to “academically qualified students” who are attending the universities in the consortium and other schools in the United States. To apply for a class, students must be in good academic standing and enrolled in a four-year, regionally accredited school.
Students attending universities in the consortium will pay standard tuition rates, and students from outside colleges will pay per class, the statement said. According to Jack Dunn, a spokesman for BC, the cost will be $4,200 for one course.
Unlike Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, these classes will be capped at approximately 20 students.
Brandeis announced its involvement with the initiative in November.
“This consortium will expand opportunities for students everywhere and will help us all gain experience and understanding of the broad potential of distance learning," Brandeis Provost Steve A.N. Goldstein said in a statement. "We're looking forward to this exploration of the on-line world."
BC will offer two courses this fall: “How to Rule the World,” taught by political science professor Robert Bartlett, and “Vietnam: America’s War at Home and Abroad” instructed by associate professor of history Seth Jacobs.
Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.
Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.
Connect to Harvard
Other Boston Area Campuses
Recent blog posts
- Commencement audiences grow, as more colleges broadcast graduation ceremonies online
- Harvard Law School to accept college juniors
- Harvard confirms case of tuberculosis, recommends testing for some
- Judge: MIT may redact names when releasing Aaron Swartz documents
- White powder sent to Harvard Law faculty member not dangerous, incident is under investigation